Matthew 25:31–46

Here are proofs enough of the time and circumstances our Lord is speaking about. He is taking His seat upon His own throne as the Son of Man... The Lord Jesus is not even yet seated upon His own throne. When on earth He had no throne. When He went to heaven, He sat down on His Father's throne. Revelation 3:21 says: "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne." When that promise is fulfilled, He must have left His Father's throne and sat down on His own throne. It is a future thing.

This will not be a passing act. He will then sit on the throne of His glory, the glory of the Son of Man, for He is now spoken of as coming to earth as Son of Man. Not until then will He sit on the throne of the Son of Man's glory, though divine glory is always His.

It is as Son of Man that the Lord Jesus will sit on the throne. No doubt He will show His divine knowledge in judging. But, as He plainly says, the Father gives Him authority to execute judgment, because He is Son of Man. As Son of God He gives life; as Son of Man He will judge. How solemn! Had He been only Son of God, who would have dared to despise Him?... It was His grace, then, in becoming man to save men, which exposed Him to contempt in His path of lowly obedience and suffering in love.

Carrying out judgment is one of the functions of the angels. Matthew 25 opens its account of the judgment of the living nations with the Son of Man coming to His throne of glory, and "all the angels with him."

The course of events now picks up again at the point where it broke off in Matthew 24:31. Up to that point the teaching had concerned the Jew in particular. Then came general instructions for those left waiting for the events announced beforehand... From verse 31 the Gentiles come in view. For when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him — that is, back to this world — it is an earthly scene.

There can be no question about this throne. It can have nothing to do with the earth, because the text itself tells us that the earth and heaven fled away. I learn at once the positive contrast between Matthew and Revelation. Only in Revelation do we hear a word about heaven and earth fleeing away. Only in Matthew do we find very plain signs that the Lord is taking His throne to govern the earth and the men living on it. Those gathered before Him here are "all the nations." That term is never used of the dead or the risen. It is used only of men here below, and in fact only of the Gentiles as distinct from the Jews.

When Christ appears, all the saints, conformed to His risen image, will appear with Him in glory. He will "be glorified in his saints, and marveled at among all who have believed." He will also come with all His holy angels around Him. It is evident that He can come with only those who are with Him.

On the contrary, Matthew shows the Son of Man come to the earth and all the nations gathered before Him. Here they are all living, and only living people can be called "nations." At the great white throne only the wicked dead are present, for the righteous dead had been raised long before, at the first resurrection.

This is a careful, divine sorting — not a mere act of vengeance that deals with whole masses and sweeps them all into one common ruin. He separates them one from another. At the great white throne the dead stand for judgment, and there is no need to separate them there. But here we have a mixed company. You never find such a mixture in heaven or hell, only on the earth. So every clause proves that our Lord is speaking of a judgment of the living on the earth.

It is interesting that sheep and goats are always found mixed together in the flocks of Palestinian shepherds, and the separation of the sheep from the goats would be a vivid way of presenting what will take place in the last days.

The Lord simply compares the separation He makes that day between the righteous and the wicked to a shepherd dividing his sheep from the goats. Then the righteous are called "sheep" and the wicked "goats." After that the figure is not kept up. It is dropped at once, and this language never comes back.

The King addresses both the sheep and the goats in respect to this third class. Indeed the very ground of judgment is the treatment of the King's brethren. It would be plainly absurd to say that the sheep are the very people He means. If that were so, the language would be completely different. Instead of saying, "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these My brethren," we would hear the King say, "Inasmuch as you have done it to one another," or "among yourselves."

He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him at His throne of judgment, and He will judge them by the way they treated the messengers of the kingdom, who had gone out to preach it to them. These messengers are the brethren (v. 40); those who received them are the sheep; those who neglected their message are the goats… I do not doubt that these brethren are Jews, as the disciples were — people who will be in a similar position as to their testimony. The Gentiles who received this message will be accepted, as though they had treated Christ in the same way. His Father had prepared the enjoyment of the kingdom for them, and they will enter it while still on earth.

But those Gentile sheep at the consummation of the age are not the church… The church will be glorified on high. Remnants from both Israel and the nations are about to be blessed on the earth in that day. The sheep of Matt. 25:32 are by no means all the sheep of God.

"All" may refer only to those nations directly connected with Israel, for the Lord speaks of "My brethren"… However, it may mean every nation.

This is a careful and divine sorting. It is not a mere act of vengeance that deals with masses and could sweep them all into common ruin. He separates them one from another. At the great white throne, where the dead stand for judgment, there is no need to separate them. But here there is a mixed company. You never find such a mixture in heaven or hell, but only on the earth. So every clause proves that our Lord speaks of a judgment of the living on the earth. It follows that the people meant by "the sheep" and "the goats" are the righteous and the ungodly among the nations then living on the earth, when our Lord comes to judge as Son of Man.

Sheep and goats are always mixed together in the flocks of Palestinian shepherds. So separating the sheep from the goats would be a vivid way of showing what will take place in the last days.

One thought connected with the goat is this. By its independence, self-will, hardness and the dark colour of its hair, it naturally suggests sin. Our Lord shows this in the parable of the judgment of the nations. There the sheep stand for the blessed, and the goats for those who are under the curse.

He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep stand at the right hand of His approval, the goats at the left hand of His refusal. He knows how to express His approval to the sheep, and how to welcome them into the earthly kingdom. That kingdom was prepared for them from the foundation of the world. This is a contrast to the portion of the church, God's heavenly people. God chose them in Christ "before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4).

Almost everyone in the professing Church believes that "the sheep" represent all the people of God, from the beginning to the end of time. And "the goats" stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if this is so, what are we to make of the third group mentioned here, whom He calls "these My brothers"? The King speaks to both the sheep and the goats about this third group. Indeed the very ground of judgment is how they treated the King's brothers.

This sitting of the court is not the final judgement of the dead. It is the King's inquiry into one matter. How have the Gentiles treated those whom He graciously calls "My brothers"? These are the Jewish preachers of the gospel of the kingdom during the sorrows of the last days. Some will treat them well and receive their message, and they will be spared to enjoy the blessings of Christ's reign. Others will treat them with scorn and cruelty, and so bring solemn judgement on themselves.

It is indeed no parable. It is a very simple statement of the separation of the living on the earth, when the Lord comes to it and sets up His throne there. He compares that separation to a shepherd separating his sheep from the goats. So it is part of that judgment of the living already spoken of, and it comes more than a thousand years before the judgment of the dead at the great white throne.

This is directly connected with His kingdom... It is the only time our Lord uses the title of King for Himself: "Then the King will say to those on His right" (vv. 34-40). This shows that the kingdom has been founded — it marks the start of His thousand-year reign... There is no ground at all for confusing it with the great white throne (Rev. 20). And there is no ground for drawing from it the popular idea of a general judgment — believers and unbelievers together. It is, in fact, a judgment of living nations. There is no scriptural precedent for calling the dead "the nations."

The Lord Jesus spoke of "the Father" and "My Father." In John 17 He had said, "I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known." Then, after His resurrection, He sends the message, "I am ascending" (not "to our") "to My Father and your Father." There is a very pointed guard there. So they are blessed of His Father here.

"Inherit life eternal." Inherit stands for "take possession of," as in Matt. 25:34 (Dalman). So in Luke 18:18. In the Synoptic Gospels it is regarded as in reserve.

They are called to inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. When God laid the foundations of the earth, He was looking onward to this blessed time. Satan's getting power over man was only a terrible interruption, but not one whose consequences the Lord could not overcome and purge out: He means to do it; and to make this world the scene of far greater blessedness than its present misery is through Satan's work.

The sheep He pronounces blessed of His Father, and invites them to inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. They shall enjoy all the blessings of His millennial reign. They are not a heavenly company, but an earthly one; and their portion is not said to have been arranged before the foundation of the world, as ours is (Eph. 1:4), but from its foundation. This distinction is of great importance.

There are three classes here — the sheep, the goats, and the "brothers" of the King. The way the nations had treated the King's "brothers" becomes the ground of their sorting. This fact is the key to the whole scene. Who then are the King's "brothers"? Very clearly they must be Jews — His kinsmen by natural descent, but also His true servants... they have gone out as His messengers among the nations. The principle on which they are sent out is the one the Lord used when He sent out the twelve apostles: "Whoever receives you receives Me."

So all rests on Christ, though His grace makes the most of what to others might seem trivial. In the one class there was faith working by love; in the other, utter unconcern. That laid bare their fitness or unfitness for inheriting the kingdom. With all saints it is the same: works are the evidence, faith in the Word the instrument, Christ's work the ground, and God's grace the source.

It is worth noticing how Scripture guards against the repulsive doctrine of reprobation. Look, for example, at Matthew 25:34... Now contrast the words to those on His left hand: "Depart from Me, you cursed" — He does not say "of My Father" — "into the eternal fire prepared" — not for you, but — "for the devil and his angels."

Now the "King" — a title used only here — begins the formal judgment of His throne, and all the nations must appear before it... The Lord and the apostles pressed hard the coming judgment of living people on earth, in the middle of their busy, selfish, greedy and sinful life.

Notice, too, that there are three groups — the sheep, the goats, and the brothers of the King. That fact alone settles how we read the whole scene. It shows clearly that this is the judgment of the living nations, after the Son of Man appears in His glory and takes His throne.

In the closing years of the Jewish age, a remnant of Jews will preach this Gospel. They are "brothers" of our Lord by natural descent. They will move among the nations of the world and give their startling testimony. They will preach the Gospel that announces the King and His Kingdom are near. How will the nations receive them?

Those who announced the news of the coming King did so against the greatest difficulties... The people around them wanted neither God's King nor God's righteousness. So hunger and thirst, exile, nakedness and prison lay ahead of these preachers. The King identifies Himself with these servants, just as He did with another persecuted group when He stopped their persecutor, Saul of Tarsus.

The sheep make no claim to have shown any regard to the King Himself. But He takes as done to Himself everything they did for His messengers, whom He owned as His brothers. The goats, on the other hand, claim they never failed the great King. But by the same rule, the indifference they showed toward His messengers counts in the King's heart as indifference toward Him... He always thinks of His own as if they were Himself.

People commonly think our Lord means acts of charity — hospitals and prison work, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked through church work or charities. They think that if a person does these things and stays faithful in them, the King will approve of them in the judgment. Many a soul builds on this foundation of sand. All this is completely wrong.

So everything rests on Christ, though His grace makes the most of what others might think small. Faith working by love in the one group, and complete unconcern in the other, showed plainly who was fit and who was unfit to inherit the kingdom. With all God's people, works are the evidence, faith in the Word is the instrument, Christ's work is the ground, and God's grace is the source.

This godly man was not ashamed of Paul or his chain. He was in Rome, and he searched hard for him, and did not rest until he found him. The Lord used him to bring refreshment to the imprisoned Apostle... And the Lord saw this good service, and valued it as done to Himself.

A careful look at our Lord's words shows that He does not speak about resurrection. He says: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations" (vv. 31, 32). The reference is therefore to His appearing and kingdom, and to His judgment of the living, not of the dead. We do not speak of "the nations" in respect of the dead: this term describes the living.

Notice especially that there is no reference to resurrection here for either "the righteous" or "the accursed." On both sides they were Gentiles living in their natural bodies, for they are expressly said to be "all the nations" when they were gathered before the glorious throne of the Son of Man.

Notice what they answer: "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?" Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we will know even as we are known? … However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations. He blesses the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that in showing acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers, they had done so much towards Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus. That truth startled his soul: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

The sheep showed them love, care, sympathy in their sorrows. So these brothers of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious. In that day, the ground on which He will deal with the nations will be this — "How did you behave towards My messengers?" … Those who honour the message treat the messengers well. They care for them and identify themselves with them. The Lord remembers this, and counts what was done to His messengers as done to Himself.

Some had shown more than kindness, self-denial, or moral excellence in any marked degree. They had shown love in various ways to the servants who preached in the King's name. Those servants preached the same truth which He had preached at the start of His public ministry. But it was faith which worked in their love. If the King and His coming kingdom had been only a myth in their eyes, they would have at least ignored His messengers as impostors.

We may see Rahab's case as an early picture of this. She believed. At that time judgment was gathering over Jericho, a picture of the world. It is written of her, "And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?" She had faith and showed it by works. And so these nations believe the messengers and treat them with kindness. Grace covers them because they believed.

How great the confusion is among Christians about the meaning of these words! Often the interpretation given strikes at the very foundations of the gospel. People think our Lord means charitable acts: hospitals and prison work, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked through church work or charitable institutions. … If anyone does these things and is faithful in them, the King will approve of them in the judgment — and many a soul builds on this foundation of sand. All this is completely wrong. The works have an entirely different meaning.

John Newton had been writing about A B C Christians, and a young clergyman wrote to him and said he had been testing himself by it and found he was in the "C" class, the highest. John Newton wrote back and said there was one thing he had forgotten to mention — namely, that those in the "C" class did not know it. … So in Matthew 25, those who pleased Him were quite unconscious of what they had done. And the principle is the same for us.

He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does what is right and thoughtful without expecting any recognition for it. As the hymn says, "Little things we had forgotten He will tell us were for Him."

The reference is therefore to His appearing and kingdom, and to His judgment of the living, and not of the dead. We do not speak of "the nations" in respect of the dead: this term describes the living. And notice too that there are three groups — the sheep, the goats, and the brethren of the King. That fact alone settles how we read the whole scene.

Who are "these my brethren?" We have had the sheep and goats — the righteous and the unrighteous Gentiles; but who are the King's brethren? Those whom the Lord will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom; men sent to announce that He is coming in His kingdom. The sheep showed them love, care, sympathy in their sorrows. So these brethren of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious that, in that day, the ground on which He will deal with the nations will be this — "How did you behave to My messengers?"

What some had shown was not just kindness, self-denial, or notable moral character. It was love, shown in many ways, to the servants who preached in the King's name the same truth which He had preached at the beginning of His public ministry. But it was faith which worked in their love. If the King and His coming kingdom had only been a myth in their eyes, they would have at least ignored His messengers as impostors. They believed the message to be of God and therefore treated its preachers with kindness.

We may look at Rahab as an early foreshadowing. She believed. At that time judgment was gathering over Jericho — a picture of the world. "By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies." She had faith and showed it by works. The preachers going about are persecuted and hated by others — suffering, hungry, some thrown into prison. And so these nations believe the messengers and treat them with kindness. Grace covers them because they believed.

They had shown such kindness to poor Jewish preachers of the gospel of the kingdom, but had not thought of their deeds at all as done to the Lord Himself.

Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we will know even as we are known? But these godly Gentiles are clearly still in their natural bodies, and the Lord is teaching them even after He appears in glory. However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations and blessing the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that their acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers were so much done to Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus — the truth that startled his soul: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

He speaks to them of showing Him many kindnesses in times of special need. For He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does the things that are right and considerate without expecting any recognition. As the hymn reads, "Little things we had forgotten He will tell us were for Him."

Could anybody show me a single passage about a general resurrection? There is no such thought in Scripture. You get Matthew 25 quoted for it, that the goats and sheep represent the two classes; but He has come in His glory down here. He is not sitting on the great white throne: before this heaven and earth flee away. Here He is come and sits on His throne. When He does come and sits there, He gathers all the Gentiles, the nations, to judge them. It is the judgment of the living. You have three sets of people, not two; and you have nothing of resurrection. You have sheep, goats, and brethren.

We have had the sheep and goats — the righteous and the unrighteous Gentiles. But who are the King's brethren? They are the men the Lord will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom, sent to announce that He is coming in His kingdom. The sheep showed them love — care — sympathy in their sorrows. So these brethren of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious. In that day, He will deal with the nations on this ground — "How did you behave to My messengers?"

Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we shall know even as we are known? … However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations and blessing the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that their acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers were done towards Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus — the truth that startled his soul: "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."

God knows the true state of every heart quite apart from works. Yet public judgment is always according to works, since works show plainly and without fail what that state is. So everyone watching can see that God's judgments are right. These messengers, whom the King calls "My brethren," had gone out as His representatives. People treated them according to the view they took of the Son of Man whom they represented. Those who believed in Him stood with His messengers and cared for them in their rejection and suffering. Those who did not believe in Him paid them no attention at all. Those who had faith declared it by their works. Those who had no faith equally declared it by their works.

In Matthew 25, those who pleased Him were quite unconscious of what they had done. And the principle is the same for us.

He speaks to them of showing Him many kindnesses in times of special need. For He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does what is right and considerate without expecting any recognition for it.

It is commonly supposed that the judgment spoken of in this chapter is the last judgment — the general judgment. This is a mistake. It is the judgment of the nations living on the earth, and not of the dead. There is no question of resurrection here. It is the judgment of the nations… People think it is the judgment of the dead because of this sentence: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." But that only means the judgment of the living will be final, just as the judgment of the dead is final.

Almost everyone in the Christian world believes that "the sheep" stand for all God's people, from the beginning of time to the end. They believe "the goats" stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if that is so, what are we to make of the third party referred to here, under the title of "these My brethren"? The King addresses both the sheep and the goats about this third class. Indeed, the very ground of judgment is the treatment of the King's brethren. It would be an obvious absurdity to say the sheep were themselves the people referred to. If that were so, the wording would be quite different. Instead of "as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers," we would hear the King say, "as you did it to one another."

The "brethren," I have no doubt, will be the remnant who will have preached the gospel of the kingdom among the Gentiles. The welcome given to those messengers decides the outcome for those who now appear in judgment. Just as surely, I believe they are Jews who will carry this testimony, and whom Jesus calls His brethren at that time.

The pressure against His messengers will be enormous. If any receive them well, it will be from faith. I grant that the measure of their faith is small. They do not yet know that honouring His brothers is honouring Him.

The true state of every heart is known to God quite apart from works. Yet public judgment always goes by works. Works show exactly what that state is. So everyone can see that God judges rightly… Those who had faith declared it by their works. Those who had no faith equally declared it by their works.

They were, up to that moment, ignorant that in showing acts of love and kindness toward Christ's messengers, so much was done toward Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first one Paul learned on the road to Damascus. The words that shook him were these: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." The Lord taught Paul that to persecute His people on earth is to persecute Christ in heaven. They and Christ are one.

Those who would strike a blow at Christ today strike at His saints. Those who would serve Christ today care for and serve His saints. What is done to even the least of His brethren, He will accept as done to Himself… Real devotion to Christ shows itself in service to His cause and His people, far more than in warm words.

We know this verse applies to others, not to us, but the principle still holds for everyone. The act here is done in secret. Where the heart is moved by love for Christ to show even the smallest kindness, the Lord will not forget it.

He separates them one from another. At the great white throne, where the dead stand to be judged, there is no need of separating them there. But here there is a mingled company. Such a mixture is never found in heaven or hell, but only on the earth. So every clause gives proof that our Lord speaks of a judgment of the living on the earth.

The remarkable thing about the latter is that their judgment, as here set out, rests only on what they had not done. It looks as if they had tried to take a middle course between being "for" and "against." They had not joined the followers of the beast. Those men rose in open rebellion against the King, and the sword killed them (Rev. 19:21). But neither had they identified themselves with His cause and with His servants. They had seen the servants persecuted and killed. They gave them neither help nor sympathy, and so showed the state of their hearts. Is not the lesson here that in divine things there can be no middle ground?

Notice, He does not say, Cursed by My Father, matching "Blessed by My Father." God hates putting away. So when the awful moment comes to pronounce the curse on these wicked nations, He says, "Depart from Me, you cursed." I believe this is the deepest sorrow to God. It throws the whole weight of destruction on those whose own sin it was. They rejected His love and holiness and glory when they rejected His Son.

In a word, then, it is plain that God has "prepared" a kingdom of glory, and "vessels of mercy" to inherit that kingdom. But He has not prepared "everlasting fire" for men. He prepared it for the "devil and his angels." And He has not fitted the "vessels of wrath" — they have fitted themselves.

Hell was not prepared for poor guilty man. He deserves it, but it was prepared for the devil and his angels. There was no hope of deliverance for these fallen angels — no redemption for them. They left God deliberately, and no one tempted them. Man was tempted by an enemy, and God feels for guilty man, drawn away by a rebel mightier than himself, even if not more guilty.

The awful future of the ungodly could hardly be stated more clearly than in the Scripture before us: "These will go away into eternal punishment." The same word covers both "punishment" and "life." The length of the one is the length of the other. Yet eternal fire was not prepared for men. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. But those who prefer the voice of the devil to the voice of God while on earth must share his doom for ever.

Somewhere in God's universe there will be a restricted area ("a lake"). God will shut evil up there and punish it for ever. No one there will be able to act in sin, though hatred in the heart towards God and His Son must remain. Neither new birth nor repentance is possible there. God will enforce complete subjection (Phil. 2:10-11). Satan and all those he deceived, whether angelic or human, will be found together.

"I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink" (Matthew 25:42). Christ does not say you took away My food, but you gave Me none.

He does not point to the evil they did. He points to the way they ignored Him, seen in the way they ignored the needs of His brethren. This is their serious sin of omission. Nothing is said about the active guilt of the rich man in Luke 16, though he lived in ease and luxury. But he ignored the poor man Lazarus, who was laid at his gate wanting only the crumbs from his table.

Who are "these My brethren"? We have had the sheep and the goats — the righteous and the unrighteous Gentiles. But who are the King's brethren? They are the men the Lord will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom, sent to announce that He is coming in His kingdom... The conclusion is obvious. In that day, He will deal with the nations on this ground — "How did you behave towards My messengers?"

"The goats," on the other hand, claim they never failed the great King. But by the same principle, the indifference they showed towards His messengers counts in the King's heart as indifference towards Him... He always thinks of His own as if they were Himself. "Why," He says to Saul, "do you persecute Me?"

It seems as if they had tried to take a middle course between the "for" and the "against"... Still, they had not joined themselves to His cause and to His servants either. They had seen those servants persecuted and even killed. They gave them no help and no sympathy, and so showed the state of their hearts. Is not the lesson here that, in divine things, there can be no middle ground?

In the one group there was faith working by love; in the other, complete unconcern. This laid bare whether they were fit or unfit to inherit the kingdom. In every case of the saints, works are the evidence, faith in the Word is the instrument, Christ's work is the ground, and God's grace is the source.

Almost the whole professing Church believes that "the sheep" stand for all the people of God, from the beginning of time to the end, and that "the goats" stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if that is so, what do we make of the third party mentioned here, called "these My brethren"?... It would be plainly absurd to say that the sheep were themselves the people He means.

Notice, He does not say, "Cursed by My Father," to match "Blessed by My Father." God hates putting away... Of the kingdom He said it was "prepared for you." He does not speak that way about the curse. Hell was not prepared for poor guilty man. He deserves it, but it was prepared for the devil and his angels.

The theme of each part of Matthew 25 is "omission." The foolish virgins failed to take oil with their lamps. The wicked servant failed to use the talent entrusted to him. Those condemned as "goats" failed to serve the Lord, because they failed to serve His brethren in their need... If people with little light will be treated so severely for neglect, what can we with our much light expect, if we do the same?

But even a brief look at the words our blessed Lord used will show that He does not mention the subject of resurrection... The reference is therefore to His appearing and kingdom, and to His judgment of the living, not of the dead. We do not speak of "the nations" in respect of the dead: this term describes the living. And notice, too, that there are three groups here — the sheep, the goats, and the brethren of the King. That fact by itself settles how the whole scene should be read.

Almost everyone in the professing Church believes that "the sheep" stand for all the people of God, from the beginning to the end of time. And "the goats," on the other hand, stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if this is so, what are we to make of the third party referred to here, under the title of "these My brethren"? The King addresses both the sheep and the goats about this third class. Indeed the very ground of judgment is the treatment of the King's brethren.

Such was His affection for His faithful servants, and so much did He value them, that He judged the people He sent the testimony to by the way they received these messengers. Whether they received them well or badly, He treated it as done to Himself. What an encouragement for His witnesses during that time of trouble, when their faith would be tested in service!

So the conclusion is clear. In that day He will deal with the nations on this ground — "How did you behave to My messengers?" The King's messengers will go out just before He appears in glory, preaching the gospel of the kingdom everywhere. When the King takes His throne, those among the nations who received that message are recognized as "sheep," and those who despised it perish as "goats." Those who honour the message treat the messengers well. They care for them and stand with them. The Lord remembers this, and He counts what they did to His messengers as done to Himself.

The remarkable thing about the goats is that their judgment here rests only on what they had not done. It seems as if they had tried to take a middle course between the "for" and the "against."... They had seen the servants persecuted and killed. They offered neither help nor sympathy, and that showed the state of their hearts. Is not the lesson here that, in divine things, there can be no middle ground.

"I was hungry, and you gave Me no food: I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink" (Matt. 25:42). Christ does not say you took away My food, but you gave Me none.

But notice: the display of glory around them does not shame them. Firm in defending themselves, the wicked answer, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?" Oh, the daring spirit of self-righteousness! Does not even the solemnity of this awful court strike you with terror and break you down?

Thus everything rests on Christ, though His grace makes the most of what to others might seem trivial. One group had faith working by love. The other showed complete unconcern. That laid bare which of them was fit to inherit the kingdom and which was not. In all cases of saints, works are the evidence, faith in the Word the instrument, Christ's work the ground, and God's grace the source.

Almost everyone in the professing Church believes that "the sheep" stand for all the people of God, from the beginning of time to the end, and that "the goats" stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if that is so, what are we to make of the third party mentioned here, called "these My brethren"? The King speaks to both the sheep and the goats about this third group. In fact, the very ground of judgment is how the King's brethren were treated. It would be plainly absurd to say that the sheep were themselves the people He means. If they were, the wording would be quite different. Instead of saying, "As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren," we would hear the King saying, "As you did it to one another."

There are three groups of people in this scene: the goats, the sheep, and His brethren. The judgment of the first two depends on how they treat the third. To do these things to one of His brethren is to do them to Himself. Not to do them to one of the least of these is not to do them to Himself. The "brethren," I have no doubt, will be the remnant who will have preached the gospel of the kingdom among the Gentiles. The welcome given to those messengers decides the fate of those who now stand in judgment.

Notice that the King does not charge the condemned with persecuting and imprisoning His servants, but only with ignoring them — treating them with neglect. It fits in with the great question of Hebrews 2, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" On that day all will see that if men treat Christ with neglect, by neglecting His servants, they came under eternal condemnation.

"I was hungry, and you gave Me no food: I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink" (Matt. 25:42). Christ does not say you took away My food, but you gave Me none.

"The sheep" make no claim to have paid any attention to the King Himself. But He counts as done to Himself everything they had done to His messengers, whom He owned as His brethren. "The goats," on the other hand, claim they never failed the great King. But by the same rule, the indifference they showed toward His messengers counts in the King's heart as indifference toward Him... He thinks always of His own as if they were Himself. "Why," says He to Saul, "are you persecuting Me?"

The remarkable thing about the goats is that their judgment here rests only on what they had not done. It would seem as if they had tried to take a middle course between the "for" and the "against"... They had seen the servants persecuted and killed, and gave them neither help nor sympathy. That showed the state of their hearts. Is not the lesson this: in the things of God there can be no middle ground?

So everything rests on Christ, though His grace makes the most of what others might think trivial. Faith working by love in the one group, and complete unconcern in the other, laid bare who was fit and who was unfit to inherit the kingdom. For every believer, works are the evidence, faith in the Word is the instrument, Christ's work is the ground, and God's grace is the source.

The theme of each part of Matthew 25 is plainly what was left undone. The foolish virgins failed to take oil with their lamps. The wicked servant failed to use the talent given to him. Those condemned as "goats" failed to serve the Lord, because they failed to serve His brethren in their need... If the nations with their little light face such severe judgment for neglect, what can we with our much light expect, if we do the same?

In the closing paragraph of Matthew 25 the end has come. The Son of Man is King. The disciples who endured to the end are saved. The nations come under judgment. The good and the evil are now fully separated, and the result of the judgment is eternal. Three times the word eternal occurs. The punishment of the wicked and the fire into which they go are eternal; the life into which the righteous pass is eternal. The opposite of life is not the ending of existence, as it would be if life merely meant existence... it is punishment, because eternal life means the whole realm of blessed and eternal realities in which the righteous will move for ever. The point here is not that the life is in them, but that they pass into it.

He separates them one from another. At the great white throne, where the dead stand to be judged, there is no need of separating them there. But here there is a mixed company. Such a mixture is never found in heaven or hell, but only on the earth. So every clause proves that our Lord is speaking of a judgment of the living on the earth... Here the judgment is calm but very solemn. Its results last for ever. It follows the distinction the Lord makes between one person and another.

Who are these brothers of the King? They are the men He will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom, sent to announce that He is coming. So the conclusion is obvious. In that day, the ground on which He will deal with the nations will be this — "How did you behave toward My messengers?" Just before He appears in glory, the King's messengers will go out preaching the gospel of the kingdom everywhere. When the King takes His throne, those among the nations who received that message are recognised as "sheep," and those who despised it perish as "goats."... The Lord remembers this, and counts what was done to His messengers as done to Himself.

Notice one thing. In Matthew 25 our Lord uses the same word for "everlasting life" and for "everlasting punishment." It is the word used for the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God (1 Timothy 1:17). Note also that the word translated "punishment" must be translated "torment" in 1 John 4:18: "fear has torment." Happy are those who agree with childlike simplicity to wholesome words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The explanation shows that the thought is not extinction. That idea is only a conclusion drawn from what fire does to weeds. The effect of the fire, like that of the outer darkness, is weeping and gnashing of teeth. So the effect is not a ceasing to exist, as they claim. It is suffering — suffering called everlasting (Matthew 25:46), in contrast with everlasting life.

Both the life and the punishment are eternal. No one seems anxious to prove that eternal life is not eternal. Multitudes labour to explain that eternal punishment is not eternal. Why? It is simply a case of the prisoner in the dock revolting against his sentence!... there is no reason to deny to "eternal" in the first half of the sentence what everyone grants it in the second. Scripturally both parts stand or fall together.

If the destruction in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is not really "everlasting," then the salvation in Hebrews 5:9 is not either. If the fire in Jude 7 is not "eternal," neither is the glory in 2 Timothy 2:10.